Beat the Streets

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) is a leadership organization that serves as the professional voice of law enforcement.  It is well respected around the world.  Last week, I led a half-day seminar on presentation skills and crisis communications for a splinter group of this organization at the request of Anna Laszlo, a leading national trainer and curriculum developer in the criminal justice field.  Anna and I became friends while exercising our penchant for musical theater on the board of Seattle’s 5^th Avenue Theatre. (It's amazing what you can learn about people's attitudes from West Side Story and A Chorus Line.)

My association with law enforcement began back before the turn when I helped create a national event called Beat the Streets to draw attention to the advent of bicycle patrols in our urban areas. Since Seattle was a pioneer in patrolling the streets on bicycles, what better place to hold the inaugural events than here. Police Departments from coast to coast participated and we got strong support from the equipment community, bicycles to helmets to bullet-proof sunglasses and more. Today there are bike cops in almost every community across the country. It was great to be there at the beginning and my relationship has continued,

The program we put together last week was a pilot for part of a week-long seminar on leadership development and interpersonal skills. I was impressed by the enthusiasm and knowledge of the group of 50 or so law enforcement leaders from across the US and Canada.  They were highly engaged in the process and obviously came to improve and hone their already considerable skills. Oh, and by the way, they were all women.

More than one of them came up to me during the half day I spent there to say, “Do you feel lucky…to be the only man here with all these women?” I was afraid to say anything but “Yes” and, seriously, I really did consider myself lucky.  They were a fantastic group.

I like to use television dramas to underscore important points when I’m instructing and my sessions here were no exception.  I have a particular affinity for the recent program called “West Wing”, which took place in the communications offices of the White House.  And even more appropriate was the fact that the chief communications officer in the series was a woman. Her handling of a crisis situation in the San Juan Islands was our focus.

Added to this session was a dose of the current series “Blue Bloods” starring Tom Selleck as the New York Police Commissioner.  Tom helped me effectively illustrate several points about presentation skills, although my wife Jane says he’s gained too much weight lately. (This is an observation that I refuse to comment on.)

Law enforcement is very exposed these days. If someone is in a position of leadership, it is likely that one way or another he or she will be on the firing line in front of the public and/or the media. Even internally, it’s important to present the right information in a transparent but studied way.

I gave the group a “jump ball” on the George Zimmerman case, which had just been decided by the jury. What would you say to the public if the six women had decided he was guilty. The group talked among themselves and interestingly they were universal in their response. Guilty or not, the verdict didn't matter.This was the result of due process, they said. It’s just the way it is.  Stay calm and don’t overreact.

That’s the kind of thoughtful action that is required today. Considering your audience and its temperament is a crucial factor.  We talked more about it and I could see these leaders spent a lot of time keeping their fingers on the pulse of their communities. It was very reassuring.

The few hours we spent together were fruitful.  Our discussions were helpful and they found some new and different considerations to take home with them.  Anna Laszlo’s skill as a trainer was very apparent and she made some suggested uses of the new tools I had equipped the group with to great advantage.  Not the least of which was video taping representatives of the groups we had broken into, using the presentations skills they had just learned to describe the value of the seminar. That is something that can definitely encourage other departments to participate in this kind of training.

Law Enforcement plays a very important role in our society today. Mental preparedness, sensitivity and compassion are perhaps needed even more that physical training in some ways.  The Women’s Leadership Institute of the International Association of Police Chiefs is focused on these subjects. It should make us all more confident about those who protect us here at home.  I valued my time with a few of the real professionals and hope I strengthened their skills in several ways..

Go Paul...Go Paul...

My mother was a “bobby soxer” growing up.  Go ahead, Google it.  It’s there. When she was in public school in the 1940’s, she saw Frank Sinatra perform and she screamed. She was a lifelong fan. For six decades, she connected with Frank’s music…even went to Las Vegas to hear him perform.  He sang well into his 80’s.  He was truly a star…but he didn’t write his own music.

Since the 60’s, I’ve seen Paul McCartney perform live in every decade. He’s going into number six right now and I love his music more than ever.  He’s played with a number of groups over the years starting with one before Wings, called the Beatles…and even a couple of lesser known ones before that.  He is a testament to loving what you do. In interview after interview, he says that he just has to make music.  It’s in his heart and soul.

Now "Sir Paul", he has written or co-written over 500 songs in his career.  Many of us know the words to a number of those songs and they have significant meaning to happenings in our lives.  What an impact this man and his music have made on three generations.

He performed last Friday in Seattle on his “Out There” tour and sold out more than 45,000 seats in Safeco Field. The critics were unanimous in their praise of the concert…over 40 songs and two encores with former members of Nirvana in 3 hours of musical heaven for the crowd. It was a herculean effort on Sir Paul’s part and left no one wanting…except to go home, pull the playlist and listen to it all again from your collection.

When Councilwoman Jean Godden was a newspaper columnist, she found me in line at the Tower Records on Mercer just before midnight waiting for the first Anthology recording to come out.  I have purchased every album of McCartney’s, whether Beatles, Wings or other, on the day it was released. She wrote a piece about my penchant for Beatles music and admitted that she had the “fever” too.

Jane and I went on one of our first dates to see the Beatles on their 60’s concert tour of the US. (Yes, we did dress differently for a concert in those days.) It was a true happening.  We saw the premieres of all the Beatles movies together and knew the words to all the songs before we went into the theater.

The ultimate for me was the McCartney and Wings concert at the Kingdome in 1990. I was promoting many events that were hosted by the Kingdome in those days and was very close to the entire staff. On the afternoon of the day before the concert, my good friend, Carol Keaton, who was the go-to person for media, called to ask me a favor. Would I be able to help her get Paul and Linda to the right places at the right times for the next day or so? WOULD I????!!!! It was a dream come true.

I could make a movie about my day with Paul and Linda. (Thank you, Carol.) Most importantly, let me say what a loving, courteous and caring couple they were. Never flustered. Never condescending. Always gracious. It’s not often that you meet the “real thing” in the music business but they were it.

 

Early on, I told Paul that I was a very biased fan of his and the Beatles music. And when I told him I had bought every album on release day, he looked at me with that quizzical-but-sly expression we’ve all seen before and said, “So you’re the one.”  We both laughed.

Sir Paul McCartney is going strong at 71.  He is musical phenom. There is not much music out there that I don’t like but I love McCartney’s music. It makes me smile and laugh and feel good. That’s what it’s all about.  Even Frank Sinatra did an album of Beatles music. Go Paul! Add another decade to the record.